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‘Heart of Oak’

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | 700+ words | Copyright

‘Heart of Oak’, a patriotic sea song written by David Garrick and beginning:Come cheer up, my lads, 'tis to glory we steer,
To add something more to this wonderful year.
It was set to music by William Boyce in 1759, and first performed in the pantomime Harlequin's Invasion. It commemorated the achievements of 1759, the year of victories, ‘this wonderful year’ as the song has it, during the Seven Years War (1756–63), when the army had triumphed at Minden, the navy at Lagos and Quiberon Bay, and both together at the capture of Quebec. The song was later traditionally played on board British ships of the line when they sailed into battle, and when the drums on board beat to quarters, they did so to the rhythm of ‘Heart of Oak’. ‘See also britons strike home’; shanty.

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